


Locked On! To Your Heart

by xiulaces



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, squint for side pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 22:12:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12067992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xiulaces/pseuds/xiulaces
Summary: Jongdae makes a bet with Chanyeol that he can beat him in a game of Overwatch. Problem? Jongdae is horrible at games. Luckily Minseok knows someone who just might be able to help him.





	Locked On! To Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to the prompter for this amazing prompt! I had so much fun writing it, since I love overwatch hehe. I hope you like it ;; and thank you to the wonderful mods, who were soo patient with me. <3 Enjoy!

Video games. Jongdae wished he could understand the appeal. They were too complicated in his opinion; there was too much to do, too many things to look at, and he could never focus. It was far too stressful for him, so he didn’t play them often. And yet he was friends with some of the most ambitious "gamers" in his school. Not by choice of course, they just happened to sit together someday back in high school, and Jongdae had managed to get stuck with them. They liked to try and pull him into their lan parties or whatever, but Jongdae always avoided them. They didn’t need to know how bad he was. Jongdae did indulge them sometimes however, listening to their rants about how some Roxas dude deserved better, and offering a shoulder to lean on during those moments of existential crisis after they finished a long game.

He trudges through the campus, passing a girl yelling to her friend about some cat game on her phone, and Jongdae rolls his eyes. He pushes open the heavy door to the student center, the cool air hitting him with stark contrast to the heat outside. He hears a shout to his left, and follows the glares of other students to the source. He entertained the idea that maybe it wasn't too late to get new friends as he walks into the overcrowded cafeteria and over to the source of the ruckus, a very sore loser named Oh Sehun hunched over his laptop. 

Most of his other friends are there too, huddled in the only corner of the cafeteria with multiple electricity ports, their phones and laptops plugged in as they furiously tap away. Minseok groans as his screen flashes _Defeat_ , leaning back to stretch. He notices Jongdae approaching as he does so and waves.

“Hey,” Minseok greets him as he sits down, the others following as they notice Jongdae, looking up at him briefly before returning to their devices.

“Your class ended early today,” Jongin observes, sparing the clock a glance before cursing as his character gets hit.

“Yeah,” Jongdae says, as Jongin pauses to eat and listen, “The professor managed to wrap things up quick since it was a simple lecture today.”

“That’s good, it gives you more time to chill,” Jongin grins, “Chanyeol should be here soon too, I think he just has a test. I wanna try and challenge him at Overwatch, we've been really into it lately.”

“Ah really?” Jongdae says distractedly as he reaches for his notebook, not really paying attention. He glances over to where Sehun is still whining to Junmyeon about how their teammates screwed him over while the latter continued to play. "I'll avenge you Sehunnie," he said, eyes never leaving the screen as the younger leans his head on his shoulder to watch, his mouth twitching up into a small smile.

"It's a good game," Jongdae says dismissively as he swipes one of Sehun’s fries, turning back to Jongin, ready to study for his next class' exam. He’d tried playing Overwatch before, only getting through a few rounds before quitting and uninstalling, never really understanding how to play. 

Jongin, to Jongdae’s dismay, beings excitedly questioning him, “Yeah it is! Do you play too? You look like you would, I bet you’re really good it totally looks like your type of game.”

“Yeah sure, I like to play it,” Jongdae says nervously, unable to resist those eager puppy eyes. He hopes the conversation will end there, but luck isn’t on his side as six feet too tall Chanyeol barrels towards their table excitedly, whipping out his laptop and greeting everyone. “What took you so long?” Kyungsoo asks, “This Sombra kicked my ass just now.” 

“Sorry dude, wait a sec and I’ll invite you to my team. Anyone else wanna play?” He asks the table.

Minseok shakes his head, “I’m playing League with a friend.”

“I’m trying to finish XV before Sehun,” Jongin whispered to him conspiratorially, glancing over to where the youngest was still watching Junmyeon play. “But guess what?” he continues before Jongdae can stop him, “Jongdae plays Overwatch too, and he’s really good. You guys should play with him someday.”

He felt all pairs of eyes on him immediately, and he panics. He never said he was _good_. He curses Jongin mentally.

“Uh, it’s a good game,” he repeats uselessly, picking at his food, “How was your class Chanyeol?”

“Dude you actually play a game?” Kyungsoo interrupts, failing to change the subject.

“I play plenty of games,” He argues defensively.

"Yeah but you never really stick to playing just one," Sehun says, "You always quit."

“I do not-” 

“You do,” Jongin pouts, stealing one of Jongdae’s strawberries. 

“That’s awesome, man!” Chanyeol says enthusiastically, “You should play with us right now! Sehun can he borrow your computer?” To Jongdae’s horror Sehun agrees, pushing the device towards Jongdae.

“No! I uh-” he frantically holds up his notebook, “I really have to study for this test. I don’t feel too good about this subject.” 

Kyungsoo squints at his notes, “Psychology? I thought you said that class was a piece of cake.” 

“It was but, we’re studying the brain right now and I really should cram, I didn’t study last night.” 

“You? Not study?” Jongin scoffed, “You’re always prepared though.”

 _Goddamnit_ Jongdae swears Jongin will be the end of him. “Ah, yeah but you guys are rubbing off on me a little. I was up all night playing that game. I think I must be a pro by now.” He trails off with an awkward laugh. 

Jongin nods in understanding while Chanyeol looks at him expectantly, “Hey _I’m_ the king of Overwatch ok? Just a quick game won’t hurt.” 

“No can do ‘king.’ Besides I don’t want to have to wipe your tears later when I beat you,” he says defiantly, cursing his loud mouth. Why couldn’t he ever think before he spoke. 

Chanyeol’s eyes widen, the challenge sparkling in his eyes as he grins, “You’re on dude. We gotta battle it out to determine the real champion is at this table.” 

Everyone holds their breath for his next words as Jongdae considers running away and starting a new life. 

“Tournament time.” 

“What?” Jongdae questions nervously as he feels everyone’s expectant eyes on him. 

“It’s one of our traditions. Whenever we play the same games, if anyone wants to challenge someone else, we duke it out while the rest of the squad spectates. It’s more fun that way you see. It builds bonds and shit,” Chanyeol explains, “So we have at it for about three rounds, best two out of three wins. And whoever wins is reigning champion.” 

Jongdae nods, his stomach knotting up uncomfortably.

“I’m level fourteen currently, what about you?” Chanyeol asks, tilting his head a little. 

“I’m level eleven,” he says, feigning confidence. 

“Cool, so we’ll have our match when we reach level fifteen, so it’s fairer that way,” Chanyeol winks at him.

“Yeah,” Jongdae nods slowly. He has to buy himself time to actually figure out how to play, “I’m actually insanely busy these next few days though, so it might take me a bit if that’s ok?” 

Chanyeol nods, his hair bouncing with his head, “That’s fine, just text me when you’re ready bro.” 

Kyungsoo nudges Chanyeol’s arm impatiently, drawing Chanyeol’s attention back to their game. 

Jongdae exhales shakily and looks back at his notes quickly. He makes eye contact with Minseok on accident, who’s looking at him with wide-eyed shock and worry. Jongdae sends him a shaky smile as Minseok breaks eye contact to quickly type something on his phone. 

Seconds later Jongdae’s phone beeps and he opens it to see a short text from Minseok. 

**Dude. What the fuck???**

Of course, Minseok would see right through him. Out of all of them, they’d known each other the longest, and as a result Minseok knew how bad he was at games. He typed back reluctantly:

**I’m screwed Min.**

It doesn’t take him even three seconds to get a reply back, and Jongdae wondered briefly if Minseok’s typing speed was due to his games. 

**To: :3  
What r u gonna do?? **

**To: Grampz  
Die. **

**To: :3  
** Rip. But srsly. Did u have a plan or???  


**To: Grampz  
None of this was supposed to happen, what am I gonna do?? Whyyyyyyyy. **

Minseok doesn’t respond right away, and Jongdae looks up to see him contemplating something. He writes a text, but not to Jongdae this time. Jongdae quirks his eyebrows at his friend, who holds up a finger to signal for him to wait. So he does for the next five minutes, pretending to study while he watches Minseok have a conversation with someone, his heart still beating fast from the adrenaline rush. 

He eventually feels his phone buzz under his hand, and reaches to unlock it quickly.  
**From: Grampz  
You’re free tomorrow after your 10:20 right? **

****

**From: :3  
Yeah, why? **

**From: Grampz  
I have someone who can help u. Meet us at the coffee shop down the street. **

Jongdae felt a wave of relief come over him. Maybe he wasn’t as screwed as he thought. 

**To: Grampz  
K. Thank uuuuuuuuu. You’re the best. **

**To: :3  
You owe me coffee **

He could live with that. 

\---  
_To: bane of my existence  
I need a favor _

 

_To: Old Man_  
Sucks

_To: bane of my existence  
You owe me _

_To: Old Man  
Fine, what is it? _

_To: bane of my existence  
I need u to help a friend with a game. Can u meet me at that cafe I like tmrw at like 10:30? _

_To: Old Man  
I’ll check my schedule _

_To: bane of my existence  
Great, see u there. _

\---

Jongdae glances at his phone, checking the time. It was 10:26 a.m, and he was sitting at a booth in the cafe, waiting for Minseok and his friend. His class had ended early, so he had been able to run to the cafe quickly. He glances around the place, strumming his fingers against his cup, a cat in the latte art winking at him. It was a nice place, he decided, looking at the aesthetic decor, plant and wood decor creating a calming atmosphere. He could see why Starbucks-loathing Minseok liked the shop. 

He hears the doorbell chime as someone walks in and Jongdae looks up, half expecting to see Minseok walking through the door. Instead he sees another student, somewhere around his own height in an oversized hoodie, looking around nervously. They make awkward eye contact that the other boy breaks after a beat, whipping his head around to stare at the menu with a frown and small pout, arms crossed defiantly in front of him. 

Jongdae chuckles a bit, amused by the other boy’s cute antics. He glances up at him from time to time as he sips on his coffee, his foam cat long destroyed. The boy has situated himself in a chair on the other side of the cafe while he waits for his order, slouching was he scrolls through his phone. Jongdae entertains the thought that the boy’s hands are really pretty for a second before shaking his head. That’s dangerous territory. He glances at his phone for the time again, seeing it was almost 10:40, and Minseok had texted him a “Sorry! Running late, be there soon!” 

He sighs, pulling out his math notebook and working on some homework while he waits. It’s not long before he’s startled by a thump and a scraping on the floor as someone dumps a bag in front of him and pulls out a chair in front of him. He looks up to see Minseok, looking as put together as always despite the fact that he’s panting. Jongdae chuckles as Minseok apologizes, waving him off before noticing the boy from earlier standing behind Minseok, looking back at Jongdae with wide eyes. Jongdae waves at him a little awkwardly before Minseok takes note and beckons the boy to sit next to him. 

“Jongdae this is Baekhyun,” Minseok introduces him, and he Jongdae offers his hand to shake.

“Nice to meet you Baekhyun,” he says as the other boy takes it shyly nodding at him before quickly tucking his hands back into his sweater paws as he rests them on the table. 

Minseok stands again after a beat of silence, “I’m gonna go order something real quick, be right back. Sorry again for making you guys wait.” 

“Ah wait,” Jongdae says, handing him his card, “I owe you remember?” 

Minseok does finger guns at him after he grabs his card, “Thanks dude.” 

Jongdae grins, turning back to Baekhyun, “So you’re gonna help me with the game?” 

Baekhyun chokes on his drink a little in his haste to answer, blushing slightly, “Yeah. That’s me.” 

“Great,” Jongdae beams, “Thanks a lot.” 

Minseok returns soon, americano in hand. “So,” he starts, “The story is Jongdae is terrible at games.”

“Hey,” Jongdae protests, not wanting to look bad in front of his cute savior. 

Minseok continues, “But his dumbass made a bet with Chanyeol, remember him? You met him once Baekhyun, the tall guy.” 

Baekhyun makes a sound of recognition, “The loud one that’s full of himself?”

Minseok snorts, “That’s rich coming from you.” 

Baekhyun grins at him, “Takes one to know one.” 

“Anyways,” Minseok continues, “Jongdae is gonna face him, best two out of three on Overwatch. And I know you don’t really pl-” 

“That’s fine!” Baekhyun interrupts Minseok, looking at Jongdae with wide eyes. He flushes a bit and sinks back into his chair once he realises his outburst. “I mean,” he clears his throat, “I love Overwatch. I’d totally be down to help you.” 

Minseok is giving Baekhyun a look that the other boy pointedly ignores, and Jongdae looks between them in confusion. 

“Awesome,” he opts for saying, “I really appreciate the help.” 

“It’s no problem,” Baekhyun says with a small smile, “Can I have your number?” 

It’s Jongdae’s turn to be flustered, responding with an intelligent sounding, “Huh?”  
Baekhyun just smiles innocently, “So I can text you. We should get together soon so I can get used to playing on your computer.” 

Jongdae frowns, he supposes that makes sense. He takes Baekhyun’s phone and enters his number. He feels his phone buzz almost instantly, an unknown number showing on the display. Baekhyun holds up his own phone for him to see who the culprit was and he grins, rejecting the call in favor of saving Baekhyun’s number to his contacts. He stops at the contact name option, thinking for a second before typing in “Angel” and saving it. Baekhyun was saving him after all, he rationalized. 

“Right,” Minseok says, glancing between them both as he stands. Jongdae had honestly forgotten he was there. “I gotta get to class, so I’ll see you guys around. Have fun bonding or whatever.” 

They both wave him goodbye before turning back to each other. It’s Baekhyun who breaks the silence first, “So you don’t play games much?” 

Jongdae pouts, still mad at Minseok for revealing that, “I try to but… I can’t ever really get the hang of them so I quit.” 

“Hmm,” Baekhyun says pensively, “Maybe we can change that.” 

Jongdae has to be imagining the flirtatious tone, he thinks as he nods, “Yeah maybe. Do you play Overwatch a lot?” 

Baekhyun straightens in his chair, coughing into his hand and adjusting his sweater. “Yeah I play decently. I play League mostly honestly. That’s how I became friends with Minseok.” 

“Oh really?” Jongdae asks, he knew Minseok played a lot of that game, but he didn’t know he played it with his secret cute friend. 

“Yeah,” Baekhyun perks up, “We had class together some semesters ago and both of us sat at the back. He caught me playing it once instead of taking notes and struck up a conversation with me after class. I thought he was going to chew me out honestly, since he’s such a goody two shoes, but instead we became friends I guess.” 

Jongdae nods solemnly, “I completely understand. One time, I left a sock in his house, and he scolded me for an hour.” 

Baekhyun winces, “Man, and I thought the one time I took a sip of his coffee and he glared at me for ten minutes was bad.” 

Jongdae laughs loudly, “Oh no, why would you ever touch his coffee? He’s probably got you on his hit list now.” 

“I’m pretty sure I’m number one on that list at this point honestly,” Baekhyun grins. 

“Why are we still friends with him?” Jongdae asks jokingly, causing Baekhyun and him to burst into a fit of giggles. 

“Maybe we have a death wish,” Baekhyun shrugs.

Jongdae raises his cup to that.

They sit together in silence for a bit more, the awkwardness from earlier gone. Baekhyun checks his phone, eyes growing wide when he reads the time. “Shit, I have class in five minutes,” he says as he quickly gathers his things, standing. Jongdae follows suit, getting rid of their cups. 

“It was great meeting you Jongdae,” Baekhyun says as they near the exit, “Are you free sometime tomorrow?” 

“Yeah I’m free after 3? Is that ok?” Jongdae says, holding the door for him. 

Baekhyun ducks his head shyly at the action, nodding, “Yeah that’s fine. Text me your address and I’ll meet you. See you then!” 

“Ok,” Jongdae says as Baekhyun starts to walk back towards campus. Luckily the cafe was only across the street. 

“Do you want me to walk you to class?” he says suddenly, not wanting their time together to end for some reason. 

Baekhyun shakes his head, “Nah, I’m gonna book it right now. Next time you can!” 

Jongdae feels himself grin again as he watches Baekhyun head off. “Next time?” he yells out once the boy is safely across the street. He catches Baekhyun winking at him before he turns the corner and is out of sight. He can’t wait for tomorrow. 

\---

**To: Grampz  
I can’t believe u have a hot friend and didn’t tell me :( **

**To: :3  
Ok ew. Baekhyun is a devil. Don’t let that cute face fool you. **

**To: Grampz  
So u admit he’s cute **

**To: :3  
This was a mistake **

**To: Grampz  
I call dibs **

\---

His class can’t end soon enough, Jongdae thinks as he taps his foot impatiently, watching the clock. He’s usually good at paying attention, but today the clock’s hands were moving far too slow to look at anything else. Finally, the teacher dismisses them, and Jongdae darts out of the door and heads toward his car. He’s just closing the door when his phone buzzes at 3:05, and he sees a text from Baekhyun asking for his address. He sends it and feels it buzz again almost instantly, Baekhyun sending a bunch of emojis as confirmation. He feels giddy as he starts the car, the real purpose of their meeting long forgotten. 

It’s when Baekhyun is starting up Overwatch, Jongdae having reinstalled it the other night, that the dread sinks back in, and he lays his head on the desk as the loading screen flashes. Baekhyun looks down at him in concern as he asks, “What’s wrong?” 

“I don’t think I can do this,” he whines, throwing in a pout for good measure. 

“You can,” Baekhyun says in a soothing tone, “You’re in the hands of a pro. Just play a round so I can see what I’m dealing with and we’ll go from there. You’ll be fine.” 

Jongdae perks up a bit after that pep talk, grabbing the mouse as the game prompts him to choose a character. Baekhyun was right; what could go wrong? 

Turns out a lot could go wrong after all, Jongdae notes grimly as his screen flashes _Defeat_ not even ten minutes later. He’d hopped right in, guns blazing as Tracer and… died. And then again. And again. And suddenly the opposing team had won, and he’d barely even gotten to see the payload. So much for impressing Baekhyun.

Baekhyun whistled next to him as he sulked at the screen. “Looks like we have a lot of work to do.” Jongdae watched the screen sullenly as they entered the next game. 

“Ok so this time, I’m gonna try and guide you through what to do,” Baekhyun instructs while the game prompts for a character choice, “Go for the same one... Tracker? Again.”

“Tracer,” Jongdae corrects as he chooses her. 

“Whatever. Ok so get ready to go, you’re on defence so… Defend.” 

“What do I defend?” Jongdae asks with wide eyes as the countdown goes down faster, his team mates running ahead of him. 

“The… thing,” Baekhyun vaguely answers, waving his hand, “Just follow your team.” 

Jongdae gives him a side eye but follows his instructions anyways, sticking close to where his team was gathered around the payload. 

“Do you know what your character does?” Baekhyun asks, squinting down to see the images on the bottom right that showed the moves. 

Jongdae wheezes as they become surrounded in game, running around uselessly, as he mashes buttons “No. Not really,” he says as he suddenly reappears away from the enemy. 

“Push that button again!” Baekhyun yells and Jongdae panics, taking a few hits before he finds it and moves away again. “Ok so that teleports you somehow, try your E.” 

Jongdae glances down to situate himself and find the button and suddenly he’s dead, and Baekhyun’s left hand is on his own. Baekhyun moves his hand gently, situating his fingers on the WASD keys. “These are your main keys since you move with these, so stay there. It’ll help you find the other buttons easier,” Baekhyun explains, his hand still not having moved. There’s an angry message on his in-game chat, but Jongdae can’t seem to care. “This game uses Shift and E mostly it seems, so keep your focus there,” he continues, finally letting go of his hand, “Now go find out what E does.” 

Jongdae looks at him doubtfully at his last sentence, and Baekhyun has the decency to look abashed. “I’ve never played Tracer before?” He offers as an explanation, and Jongdae guesses it’ll have to do, so he charges back into battle. He takes a few hits before pushing E, and is amazed to find himself back where he was a few second earlier. “Guess that one reverts time a bit or something,” Baekhyun muses, and Jongdae manages to land a few hits. His team is holding up pretty well this time, managing to keep the other team off the payload for the most part, but it was close. 

Suddenly the circle in the middle of his screen flashes purple and Baekhyun chants, “Push Q, push Q,” so he does, and his Tracer throws a bomb that kills almost all of the other team. _Triple Kill_ the robot voice informs him, and Jongdae is so happy he feels like flying. 

“Did you see that?” he screeches at Baekhyun while the other claps, cheering him on. His team manages to set up a good defence again after his ult, and they’re able to push the other team back until the end. 

_Victory!_

Jongdae screams, wrapping Baekhyun into a hug, “Oh my god, I’ve never ever won a game before! Thank you!” 

Baekhyun pats his back as he barely bites back a smile, definitely not thinking about how well Jongdae fits in his arms. “You did it dude! That was all you,” he says. They’re interrupted by the game starting a new match, and they break apart quickly. Jongdae fidgets a bit, passing Baekhyun the keyboard. 

“You can have a turn,” he says softly before adding in with a teasing tone, “Show me how the pros do it.” 

Baekhyun gives him a weak laugh, “Yeah. Totally.” 

He hesitates for a bit at the character selection, and Jongdae asks him who he mains. 

“I play the dude with the guns, Baekhyun says, clicking on random characters. 

“Soldier Seventy-six?” Jongdae blinks, pointing at said character. Baekhyun follows his finger, hovering the mouse there before shaking his head. 

“No, not him,” he says, before finally finding who he was looking for, “Him.” 

“McCree?” Jongdae questions, looking at him doubtfully. 

Baekhyun nods, following his team as they prepare to attack. “Why are the doors closed?” he wonders aloud, before clamping a hand over his mouth, eyes widening. 

“Because you’re on attack. You have to wait for the clock,” Jongdae explains, examining Baekhyun carefully, “You’ve never played Overwatch have you?” 

“I have!” Baekhyun defends, “Once or twice.” 

“Baekhyun!” Jongdae gasps and Baekhyun exits the game in dismay.

“I’m sorry I lied,” he says as he turns to look at Jongdae, head down in apology, “I honestly only play League pretty much. I only played Overwatch a few times at my friend’s house.” 

“Why did you lie? What am I going to do?” Jongdae asks, panic rising in him again. 

“Hey,” Baekhyun stops him, “You just won a game, didn’t you?” Jongdae nods hesitantly, so he continues, “So you can do it. You just have to keep practicing. And I really am a pro, just at League. So, I can still try and help you… if you want me to.” 

Jongdae stares at Baekhyun in silence, before turning back towards the computer, contemplating the other’s words. It was true that Baekhyun had been vaguely helpful, and had managed to get him further in his game career in a short time frame than Jongdae had in his whole life. Whether it had been pure luck or if he really was improving was left to be determined, but there was only one way to find out. To keep trying. 

“Ok,” he says, arranging his chair to face the monitor again.

He can hear Baekhyun exhale next to him, and he tries hard to keep his face neutral like he’s still angry. Baekhyun slid his chair closer, hesitantly poking his side, and Jongdae couldn’t keep the smile off his face. There was just something about the other that he couldn’t resist. He turns to face him, stopping when he sees the other looking back at him hopefully, their eyes meeting. 

“Wanna try another round?” Baekhyun asks, “We can figure out how to play together.” 

Jongdae decides he likes that plan best. 

They end up staying up until one in the morning, playing almost nonstop, only pausing to eat and switch off between rounds. Jongdae finds it strange, that him and Baekhyun didn’t know each other a day ago, but now they were as close as old friends. They found out they had a lot of things they were alike in, both having the tendency to be the loud friend that pranked everyone, and they both had been choir kids. Baekhyun made Jongdae promise to go to a norebang with him soon, and he had readily agreed. They say their farewells, agreeing to meet up again later that day, since neither of them had class. 

Jongdae whips out his phone once Baekhyun is gone, sending Chanyeol a text. 

**To: Giant  
You free tomorrow? **

**To: Loud One  
Tomorrow today or tomorrow tomorrow**

**To: Giant  
Tomorrow tomorrow **

**To: Loud One  
Hell yeah. I don’t have anything after my noon class. **

**To: Giant  
Cool, I don’t have anything after my class at 3, let’s go at it at 5? **

**To: Loud one  
Sounds g. Gn **

**To: Giant  
Gn **

Jongdae takes several deep breaths as he settles into his bed. He could do this. With Baekhyun at his side. 

They’re near the end of a match when Jongdae notices it. He’s been staring at Baekhyun’s hands again, their thighs pressed up against each other as Baekhyun practically leans on him, the only thing separating them being their chairs; and Jongdae feels his heart race. So he clears his throat and shifts a bit, breaking their comfortable position. Baekhyun is unfazed, keeping his eyes on the game as their team barely scrapes a victory. Their hands brush as Baekhyun hands him the mouse, chatting excitedly about the match and Jongdae blushes, barely daring to move. 

Baekhyun nudges his hand, looking at him in worry, “Hey, what’s wrong?” 

_You’re too cute_ Jongdae thinks, opting to say, “Nothing. I’m just a lil tired.” 

Baekhyun nods, “Yeah we’ve been at it for a while. Do you wanna take a break? I brought some chocolate.” 

“One more game,” Jongdae says instead, “I gotta be in top shape for tomorrow.” 

Baekhyun grins, leaning back into his chair to watch, “Ok.” 

Jongdae’s team is awful, and he ends up carrying them for the most part, but he’s extremely proud that he’s doing the carrying instead of dragging the team down for once. “Want a chocolate ball?” he hears Baekhyun ask. He nods without thinking, eyes never leaving the game when he suddenly feels the sweet being pressed against his lips. He stops breathing for a second, watching as his Tracer gets eliminated. He tells himself to calm down despite his rapidly beating heart and hesitantly opens his mouth for Baekhyun to feed him, refusing to look away from the screen. He tries not to scream when he feels one of Baekhyun’s fingers brush his lip, starting to chew rapidly and coughing a bit as he tries to not choke. 

“Is it good?” Baekhyun asks a little too innocently. 

Jongdae nods rapidly, eyes still trained on his monitor. 

“Do you want another one?” Baekhyun teases, waving the chocolate in his face. Jongdae plucks it out of his hand and pops it in his own mouth before Baekhyun gets the chance to do anything else, causing the other boy to whine, “You’re no fun.” Jongdae sticks his tongue out at him, finishing off an enemy D.va. 

They don’t stay up as late this time, ending before dinner. Jongdae is walking Baekhyun to his car when the latter grabs his wrist suddenly. Jongdae stops in his tracks, turning to him in question. 

“Hey um, don’t stress too much about tomorrow. No matter what happens, I’m really glad I met you? You’re pretty cool,” Baekhyun mumbles, quiet for once. 

Jongdae can’t help his heart fluttering as he looks at Baekhyun. “Thanks. I know it’ll be ok, because I have you at my side.” 

“Right. Good night. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Baekhyun says hastily as he ducks into his car, and maybe the lights were playing tricks on Jongdae, but he swore Baekhyun’s cheeks were pink. 

\---

The cafeteria is as crowded as ever as Jongdae pushes his way down to where his friends usually sit, hogging all of the electrical ports as usual. Sehun sees him first this time from where he’s all but resting his head on Junmyeon’s shoulder, and he waves him over.

“Hey dude, you’re taking on Chanyeol today right?” he questions him as Jongdae takes the empty seat next to him. 

“Yep,” he affirms, and Jongin whistles. 

“Are you ready?” Minseok asks in worry from across the table. 

“Yeah,” Jongdae says, finding that he’s strangely at ease, “I’ve been playing a lot these past few days and I think I have a newfound love for video games. Or, at least Overwatch.” 

Jongin claps and Kyungsoo looks at Jongdae with a smile, “You should play with us sometime then.” 

Jongdae smiles back at his friend, “Yeah. I will.” 

Chanyeol comes bounding up to the table then, munching on Doritos as he sits in his usual chair next to Kyungsoo.

“Hey,” he greets the table, ruffling Kyungsoo’s hair. The shorter boy only huffs, glaring at him before stealing a chip, turning back to his notes. Chanyeol laughs, looking over at Jongdae, “You ready for today bro?” 

Jongdae gives him a thumbs up, “You bet I am. Are you?” 

“Sure am,” Chanyeol says, giving him a cocky grin. 

“Good,” Jongdae smiles before Jongin nudges him, asking him to help him with a math problem. He feels a buzzing in his pocket as he’s helping the younger boy, and pulls out his phone to see a text from Baekhyun cheering him on. He’s not sure if he’s more excited about seeing the other boy, or about the game. 

He takes his contacts off when he gets home, deciding to rest his eyes for a bit and pulling on his glasses. It’s four thirty-three, and Baekhyun should be getting to his dorm any minute now. Sure enough he hears the bell ring as he opens a bag of chips, and he goes to let Baekhyun in. He’s wearing an oversized sweater as usual, and Jongdae wants to hug him- so he does, blaming the adrenaline of the game to come. 

“Hey dude,” he plays it casual, breaking the hug, “How was your day?” 

Baekhyun blinks, caught off guard with the hug, “It was good, uh. You ready?” 

“Thanks to you I am,” Jongdae smiles, offering him some chips as they go to sit down. Ten minutes until the match. Jongdae loads up the game, exhaling deeply as he notices Minseok and Kyungsoo online already. Minseok messages him instantly: _Is Baekhyun with u??_

Baekhyun laughs, holding up a finger as he types out: _No. He got lost_

_Byun Baekhyun you better not mess up._ Minseok types back and Jongdae laughs as Baekhyuns pouts, “How did he know it was me?” 

He sees Sehun, Jongin, and Junmyeon have logged on, as well as Chanyeol, and almost instantly he gets invited into a custom game. He hears a ding somewhere, and he hears Chanyeol’s voice, a bit grainy from the game voice chat saying, “You ready to start?” 

He pushes the talk button to give his affirmation, and Baekhyun pulls out a bag of chocolate as he adjusts his chair. 

“Go Jongdae,” Baekhyun cheers, but he looks nervous. 

Jongdae reaches out to grab a piece of chocolate while they wait for the game to start. They’d filled out the teams with bots, Chanyeol and Jongdae on opposite teams. “Do you always carry these around?” Jongdae questions Baekhyun of the chocolate balls. 

“No, but recently they’re my favorite,” he explains. Jongdae nods, his attention drawn to the monitor as his Tracer stands by the door, the robotic voice counting down as they hold their breath. 

The game starts, and Jongdae launches forward with his team of bots, taking out a Widowmaker bot rather quickly. Chanyeol pops out of nowhere as Bastion, raining down a barrage of bullets on Jongdae’s Tracer before he can react, causing him to die. Jongdae curses, and Baekhyun places a soothing hand on his thigh. It doesn’t exactly calm him down, but he focuses again as he sets off once more. 

Chanyeol puts up a good fight, but Jongdae manages to successfully defend the payload, winning the first round. Jongdae pulls off his glasses in shock, his face close to the screen as he reads the word _Victory_ over and over before it disappears. Baekhyun is clapping excitedly behind him, chanting “You did it!” 

“Beginner’s luck,” Chanyeol’s grainy voice teases him, and Jongdae goes back into serious game mode. It wasn’t time to celebrate just yet. He turns to Baekhyun and they share a look before nodding. They wouldn’t go down without a fight. 

Chanyeol wins the next round, despite Jongdae’s best effort. Baekhyun pats his back as they listen to Chanyeol’s distorted cheering, and Jongdae thinks for a second he hears Kyungsoo congratulate him in the background. Baekhyun offers him a chocolate ball, and Jongdae opens his mouth. Baekhyun laughs as he places the chocolate inside. “You got this Dae,” Baekhyun says, and Jongdae feels his face heat up at the nickname. 

He charges forward, on the attacking team again, Baekhyun’s hand on his thigh grounding him. 

There’s lots of shouting, and it’s a really close match. Both he and Baekhyun are leaning forward as far as they can, their snacks forgotten haphazardly on the corner of the desk. Chanyeol manages to corner Jongdae, and he tries to escape, but he’s not fast enough. With Jongdae gone for a few seconds, Chanyeol’s team manages to push through into overtime. Jongdae makes his Tracer go as fast as she can, but they’re too late, and the screen flashes _Defeat_. 

Jongdae and Baekhyun sink back into their chairs, shocked by the intensity of that last match. 

“Yo, gg man,” Chanyeol says, “You put up a good fight. You’re really good.”

Jongdae reaches up to push the talk button, pleased at the compliment, “You too bro. We’ll have to play more often.” 

“For sure man. Hey I’ll see you tomorrow, I’m babysitting Kyungsoo.” 

They hear a loud thunk before Chanyeol logs off, and Jongdae and Baekhyun stare at each other in silence for a second. Their mouths slowly form into mutual smiles, but it’s Baekhyun who laughs first, cheering as he lunges forward to hug Jongdae.

“That was amazing, Dae!” Baekhyun breathes into his ear, and Jongdae’s hands somehow find themselves tangled in Baekhyun’s hair. “I’m so proud of you.” 

It happens so quickly, Jongdae isn’t sure who leans in first. He feels Baekhyun’s breath on his lips before their mouths touch. They linger there for a second, the world slowing down. Then Jongdae shifts, and his nose bumps into Baekhyun’s. They break apart, laughing quietly. Baekhyun looks down shyly, and it’s the most endearing thing, so Jongdae cups his chin with his hand, bringing him in for another quick kiss. 

“I think I’m the real winner here,” Jongdae says, grinning at Baekhyun’s confused face, “Because fate brought me to you.”


End file.
